Tuesday, November 30, 2010

There was a rich merchant who had 4 wives. He loved the 4th wife the most and adorned her with rich robes and treated her to delicacies. He took great care of her and gave her nothing but the best.

He also loved the 3rd wife very much. He's very proud of her and always wanted to show off her to his friends. However, the merchant is always in great fear that she might run away with some other men.

He too, loved his 2nd wife. She is a very considerate person, always patient and in fact is the merchant's confidante. Whenever the merchant faced some problems, he always turned to his 2nd wife and she would always help him out and tide him through difficult times.

Now, the merchant's 1st wife is a very loyal partner and has made great contributions in maintaining his wealth and business as well as taking care of the household. However, the merchant did not love the first wife and although she loved him deeply, he hardly took notice of her.

One day, the merchant fell ill. Before long, he knew that he was going to die soon. He thought of his luxurious life and told himself, "Now I have 4 wives with me. But when I die, I'll be alone. How lonely I'll be!"

Thus, he asked the 4th wife, "I loved you most, endowed you with the finest clothing and showered great care over you. Now that I'm dying, will you follow me and keep me company?" "No way!" replied the 4th wife and she walked away without another word.

The answer cut like a sharp knife right into the merchant's heart. The sad merchant then asked the 3rd wife, "I have loved you so much for all my life. Now that I'm dying, will you follow me and keep me company?" "No!" replied the 3rd wife. "Life is so good over here! I'm going to remarry when you die!" The merchant's heart sank and turned cold.

He then asked the 2nd wife, "I always turned to you for help and you've always helped me out. Now I need your help again. When I die, will you follow me and keep me company?" "I'm sorry, I can't help you out this time!" replied the 2nd wife. "At the very most, I can only send you to your grave." The answer came like a bolt of thunder and the merchant was devastated.

Then a voice called out : "I'll leave with you. I'll follow you no matter where you go." The merchant looked up and there was his first wife. She was so skinny, almost like she suffered from malnutrition. Greatly grieved, the merchant said, "I should have taken much better care of you while I could have !"

Actually, we all have 4 wives in our lives

a. The 4th wife is our body. No matter how much time and effort we lavish in making it look good, it'll leave us when we die.

b. Our 3rd wife ? Our possessions, status and wealth. When we die, they all go to others.

c. The 2nd wife is our family and friends. No matter how close they had been there for us when we're alive, the furthest they can stay by us is up to the grave.

d. The 1st wife is in fact our soul, often neglected in our pursuit of material, wealth and sensual pleasure.

Chand Baori, in the village of Abhaneri near Bandikui, Rajasthan. Stepwells, also called bawdi or baoli are in essence wells in which the water can be reached by descending a set of steps. They may be covered and protected, and are often of architectural significance.

Built back in the 10th century, the incredible well of Chand Baori, India was a practical solution to the water problem in the area. The arid climate forced the locals to dig deep for a dependable water source, one that would last throughout an entire year. Chand Baori well is 30 meters deep, it has 13 floors and 3,500 steps. Legends say that ghosts build it in one night and that it has so many steps to make it impossible for someone to retrieve a coin once it’s been dropped in the well.

The horse, currently only a little taller than this book, is expected to grow to about 24 inches

Toy horses are usually pink and plastic – and aimed at young girls. But this little pony is 100 per cent natural – and ready to make friends with anyone her size. More images after the break...

The miniature horse snuggles up to mummy as local people try to come up with a name for her

Born ten days ago at a stud in the southern state of Victoria, Australia, the 15in miniature horse – which is yet to be named – has already formed a bond with Sam Leith, 12. Silver dun tovero in colour, she was given a clean bill of health – and should reach 24in when grown.The birth has generated such excitement in the community that local people are entering a competition to give the horse a name in time for Christmas.

Tight squeeze: The horse is so small it can fit underneath her mother

Owner Lee Scown said she wanted a name that reflected the tiny, unique nature of the horse.'It’s the smallest horse I’ve ever had and she’s so gorgeous,' Ms Scown said. 'It’s amazing to see a horse so tiny, and she’s about the size of a week-old lamb.'The horse is the smallest born at Riverdance and its arrival surprised even its breeder.'We got told the mare wasn't due for another four weeks but on Sunday morning I walked outside and called her, and out ran the little foal behind her.'

Going for a walk: Sam leads the way, followed by Bliss and her tiny new daughter

Seeing eye to eye: The little horse has already formed a bond with youngster Sam Leith

Every person in my life loves me differently.......knows me differently and understands me differently........itsyour perspective how you look at me.

Started a new life..........never know where its gonna take me......one thing i can do is walk along.

My God is with me holding my hand. If time demands he will lift me n walk... of this I'm sure...

Want to tell that life is simply a collection of little lives, each lived one day at a time. That each day should be spent finding beauty in flowers and poetry and talking to animals. That a day spent with dreaming and sunsets and refreshing breezes cannot be bettered. Everything gifted by God...don’t let the gift wrap cover your eyes...

Life is too short but has a lot hidden inside to be learned. Search, Explore and enjoy the gift of God. I am waiting for all the new lessons that are ready for me in this new life........New job...

You hope for the success, you dream about it, but you never expect it.

I am nothing special; of this I am sure. I am a common boy with common thoughts, and I've led a common life.

I had few wrong steps but God put me in the right path. Now the only thing I have to do is watch my steps....my mind....and my words. Because these three things are my real definition.

It takes a minute to have a crush on someone, an hour to like someone, a day to love someone, but it takes a lifetime to forget someone

So never try this Because when you know that you can't forget her just don't try it.............as simple as that.

Live with his memories nothing else is sweeter than that.

When you are in love nothing else seems to be more beautiful than your love

So enjoy the beauty.................

For me Love is when you shed a tear and still want her, it's when She ignores you and you still love her, it's when she loves another boy but you still smile and say I'm happy for you, when all you really do is cry.

When She deserves You......She will come to You

And if She doesn’t sacrifice will always fetch you satisfaction.

After all this, I think I can deceive people and u are a good example. I'm like a nice n sweet Boy when you meet me. And I don't have any bad intentions. But I'm a bad boy too. Otherwise I'm very good at acting. Can't help it..........

Looking back, I have this to regret, that too often when I loved, I did not say so.

Love waits for one thing, the right moment.

I don’t know if that right moment came into my life or not but if it has already come I am sure I missed it...now its too late...

After reading all this I may sound like a poet...but the truth is, at the touch of love, everyone becomes a poet.

Monday, November 29, 2010

Friday, November 26, 2010

1. Research Immersion

MIT Museum

Cambridge, Mass.

Opened: 1971Visitors last year: about 80,800

The museum at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's main campus serves as a window to the school's wide range of research projects. This year's scheduled exhibits include robotic underwater exploration, a compact urban concept car, and a look inside cancer research using the molecular genetic model of zebra fish. The museum's “public soapbox” events give MIT researchers a chance to discuss current issues and solicit involvement in ongoing studies. “We're trying to bridge the gap between the current research itself and the science that's done and dusted,” says museum director and MIT professor John Durant.

2. The Wings of Man

Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum

Washington

Opened: 1976Visitors last year: about 5,230,000

Where else but the National Air & Space Museum can visitors, in a single glance, view the Spirit of St. Louis, the first plane to make a solo nonstop transatlantic flight (1927); the Bell X-1, the first plane to exceed the speed of sound (1947); and SpaceShipOne, which made the first privately funded human space flight in 2004? To make the subject even more relevant to a 21st-century audience, the Smithsonian has installed video kiosks that let users explore 360-degree models of each object. The museum is also in the process of archiving every artifact in its collection on its Web site, available free to the public.

3. No Mainstream Museum

Museum of the Moving Image

Astoria, N.Y.

Opened: 1988Visitors last year: about 95,000

Curators at the Museum of the Moving Image are embracing the digital media of the YouTube-watching, video-game-playing generation, in addition to traditional film and television. Visitors can create their own movie soundtrack; play Space Wars, one of the first video games ever made (it predates Pong); and encounter the Yoda puppet from The Empire Strikes Back. This year the museum will open the doors to a virtual reality cave, where the walls are wrapped in a stereoscopic video projection. “We don't rely on a museum-going audience to come to our museum,” says the museum's deputy director and curator of digital media, Carl Goodman: “The nontraditional subject brings in nontraditional visitors.”

4. Revisit the Exhibit

Tech Museum of Innovation

San Jose, Calif.

Opened: 1990Visitors last year: 325,000

At “The Tech” in the heart of Silicon Valley, state-of-the-art technology isn't just the subject—it's the method of delivery. No heavyweight handhelds here. As they come through the door, guests are given a light UPC-branded wristband that keeps track of visited exhibits. Once home, the museum-goer can log on to the museum's Web site and download related information onto a home computer.

5. Computing Age Dinosaurs

Computer History Museum

Mountain View, Calif.

Opened: 1996 (current incarnation)Visitors last year: over 45,000

Anyone who wants a glimpse of computing in the era before laptops and Palm Pilots—when computers were hunks of wires, tubes, and metal that filled entire rooms—need go no further than the Computer History Museum. There visitors can tour some 13,000 artifacts of the computer's past, including the 1944 ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer), which houses 18,000 vacuum tubes; German enigma coding machines used in World War II; and the Cray-2 supercomputer shown here, built in 1984 and used for nuclear weapons research by the U.S. government. The newest addition, “Mastering the Game: A History of Computer Chess,” features interactive chess consoles and a portion of the storied Deep Blue chess computer.

6. Are You Experienced?

Experience Music Project

When Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen wanted to display his extensive collection of Jimi Hendrix-owned guitars, he dropped $60 million on a Frank Gehry-designed museum. Experience Music Project, as its name suggests, relies heavily on technology to explore the music of such diverse artists as Bob Dylan and Bing Crosby. Every visitor is given a handheld device that uses a touch screen, images, and video to provide a multimedia-guided tour. In the “Sound Lab,” aspiring musicians can jam on keyboards and guitars that light up to show you how to play or check out the Jam-O-Drum, an electronic surface designed for collaborative musical improvisation.

7. Spy Tech

International Spy Museum

Washington

Opened: 2002Visitors last year: over 700,000

From invisible ink to buttonhole cameras to night-vision goggles, it's all on display at the International Spy Museum, one of the most popular attractions on the National Mall in recent years. Executive Director Peter Earnest says the museum employs technology to explain technology. Visitors to the interactive “School for Spies” can simulate aerial surveillance missions over Soviet shipyards and those who stop in at the soon-to-be-opened “Operation Spy” will be able to team with others in a top-secret mission of audio decryption, safecracking, and polygraph testing.

8. Fantastic Voyage

Science Fiction Museum & Hall of Fame

In the building annexed to the Experience Music Project and in the shadow of Seattle's Space Needle lives another Paul Allen project, the Science Fiction Museum. Artifacts from the fantastic high-tech worlds of Steven Spielberg, James Cameron, George Lucas, and Arthur C. Clarke—all members of the museum's advisory board—along with other futurists are brought to life in galleries labeled "Homeworld," "Fantastic Voyages," "Brave New Worlds," and "Them!" “Our audience expects a combination of storytelling and entertainment features,” says senior curator Jacob McMurray.

9. All About Androids

Robot Museum

Nagoya, Japan

Opened: 2006Visitors last year: NA

Visitors to the Robot Museum in central Japan may think they've stepped into the future. From memorable androids like Robbie the Robot (of Forbidden Planet fame) to a modern robot that looks like a seal, the newly built complex houses hundreds of walking, talking, thinking, reading, and playing machines and thousands of videos, photographs, and examples of robot memorabilia. In the “Robothink” exhibit, visitors can try their hand at operating a mechanical creature.

10. This Is Not a Test

Museum of Broadcast Communications

Chicago

Opened: 1987-2003; reopening 2007Visitors expected in first year after reopening: 200,000 to 250,000

When Chicago's Museum of Broadcast Communications reopens after a four-year hiatus in a new downtown building, curators hope a bold new direction will wow the public. Visitors will make their first stop at the Media Cafe' (rendering shown), where individual computer consoles help sort through 85,000 hours of radio and television content dating from the 1950s. When they tune in to an area of interest, they may proceed to one of eight exhibit areas divided by genre—comedy, drama, music variety, children's shows, talk shows, news, sports, and game/reality shows—to discover artifacts, supporting audio and video material, and functioning radio and TV studios.